Graduate from 'Tier 1' Law School Decides Education is Worth $0

What does it say about the value of a law school education if recent law graduates are begging for an opportunity to work for free? I wonder if applicants for the law school class of 2013 are paying attention. We mentioned this Craigslist post in Non-Sequiturs last night:

NY licensed attorney work for free (DC/Maryland/Virginia)
2008 graduate from 1st tier law school, with one year law firm experience, licensed in NY state, DC bar pending, is willing to work for free for one year or more, in exchange for experience in civil litigation, criminal defense, family law, contract, bankruptcy. and/or property law. I am very reliable, hard working and easy to work with. I can start working immediately in the DC and surrouding [sic] area.

“Why buy [the associate] when you can get [the blood, sweat, and tears] for free?”


Hopefully not all unemployed graduates from the class of 2008 are suffering from this lack of self-worth. Don’t give your work away. At least find a way to squeeze a weekly stipend out of the deal. 2008 graduates are worth a six-pack and all the ramen noodles they can eat, at least.
A month ago, a West Coast law firm was advertising for free legal help. We ran a reader poll. Nearly 54% of ATL readers said that they would rather sit on a couch doing bong hits than work for free. All told, about 72% of readers said that they wouldn’t take the job.
So what about the other 28% that have this tier 1 graduate as their mascot? What is wrong with these people? Who in their right mind goes through three years of legal education, passes the bar, and is then willing to work as a free lawyer? In this guy’s case, he is begging to give away his legal counsel.
Have. Some. Pride.
First of all, a tier one legal graduate should be able to secure paying work, even if it is not legal. Earning a paycheck is of course what adults do. At the very least this guy should be calling up every judge in the country trying to get a clerkship.
Whatever he does, he needs to stop undercutting the market.
Earlier: It’s Come to This: Unpaid Internships For Lawyers With One – Three Years Experience
NY licensed attorney work for free [Craigslist]

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